A few things we’ve learned from 6 months living on the road

I can hardly believe that it’s been 6 months since we sold our house and set off to try our hand at full-time RV living.  Without a doubt there has been a learning curve and we still become a little better accustomed to this lifestyle every week.  There have been good days and bad as well as a lot of learning about ourselves and life on the road.

Here are a few things we’ve learned in 6 months living in our little home on wheels:

1.  Route planning and resource management is time consuming. 

If you want to camp for free on public lands it’s likely you’ll be far from a town.  Or at least a town large enough to offer the resources needed.  So pre-planning where to get water, groceries, propane, fuel, etc. is a must.  If you want to camp in a city, planning ahead and making reservations at a campground or RV park is important as most desirable places fill up.  In addition, the weather is always a factor, as well as the route we’ll take to get from Camp A to Camp B.  It’s constant homework and can be both fun and frustrating.

2.  Receiving mail is tricky. 

There really isn’t an easy solution for those of us without an address.  At least that’s what I’ve found to be true.  Banks, insurance companies and the like require a permanent address.  Using a mail forwarding service or the address of a friend or family member are the most common options.  Your mail will get sent to that address and then you must coordinate where you’ll be and when so that you can have your mail sent to the post office in said town via General Delivery.  Currently we’re waiting for our mail to arrive before we can move on to our next destination.

3.  Traveling with a trailer (any trailer) will never be the same as traveling in just the Four Wheel Camper. 

The Casita has been an awesome addition to our set up and the extra space was needed for full-time travel.  However, we miss the days of traveling in just the truck camper.  There’s nothing quite like the ability to go down any dirt road without having to worry about being able to turn around.  We also tend to see more and get deeper in to the backcountry with just the truck since towing the trailer slows down our rate of travel quite a bit.  Whenever we decide to settle somewhere, we’ll be excited to resume our trips in the Four Wheel Camper.

4.  Living on the road can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. 

You’d automatically like to think that this lifestyle is a lot cheaper than living in a traditional house.  That’s not necessarily true.  It’s all about how you do it.  If you burn a lot of gas, stay in campgrounds and eat out often, those costs add up fast.  Alternatively, you can camp on public lands for free, only move once every week or two, cook your own meals and spend very little.

5.  The ability to have a new view out your window whenever you want is pretty great. 

I’ve gotten a little burnt out on route planning and trying to figure out what to see and where to go next.   But then we park at a new location, open our blinds to an entirely new view and can’t help but think how cool it is that we can just relocate our home whenever we want.

6.  This lifestyle is easily mistaken for simple. 

Though it’s portrayed as nothing but rotating million dollar views, this is hardly a simple way to live.  Not knowing where you’ll sleep next or where your water will come from or when you’ll get to shower again is not simple living.  It’s deliberate and thoughtful and I love that but it’s not simple.  There are still bills to be paid, health concerns to address, things that need to be serviced, fixed and maintained.  It’s a different way to live but shouldn’t be mistake for a perpetual vacation.

7.  No matter where you are, you still have to live with yourself. 

Let’s see if I can explain this one so it makes sense.  First, a short story.  The other day, while sitting in our trailer eating dinner, we were watching a Sailing La Vagabonde episode on You Tube.  They’re an Australian couple that have been sailing around the world for the last few years.  Their life looks like a dream.  One clip of this particular episode showed calm seas at sunset and the gentle sound of the sea tapping against their catamaran.  I thought to myself “wow, that looks incredibly peaceful”.  Then I realized… I’m in the middle of the desert looking out my window at the snow-capped Sierras, not a soul in sight and silence all around.  Isn’t this right here, my life, incredibly peaceful?  I think that’s what we tend to do as humans, look at others lives from the outside and generalize.  Yet, life is so much more complicated than that.  Mark & I’s heads have been full of so much crap the last couple of years as we sort thru a bit of mid-life crisis and a beautiful view doesn’t fix that.  So I’ve learned in the last six months, you can chase happiness all you want but you’ll only ever find joy in your environment once you’ve found peace within your own mind.

8.  This lifestyle has highlighted the importance of community. 

I’m not sure if this comes with age or with having spent too much time alone in the wilderness but I’ve begun to crave friendships and relationships more than ever.  Mark & I are both very independent and introverted so we naturally seek seclusion.  However, the very best times we’ve had this winter have been the ones spent with family and friends.  A beautiful vista of untapped wilderness may feed my soul but so does the love and laughter of my family.  After six months on the road, I’m seeking a better balance of both.

9.  We have yet to figure out how our aviation lives and camping lives can co-exist. 

For those of you that don’t know, we have an airplane back in Colorado.  Making that purchase two years ago was one of the greatest accomplishments we’ve ever made. At the same time we had this dream of living on the road and for a couple of years we’ve brain-stormed how to combine our camping and aviation lives.  It’s for that reason that we bought an airplane with folding wings. But after one trip bumping it down the road, we realized airplanes aren’t meant to withstand the constant jarring of the pavement. So this winter, we tucked the airplane in to our hangar and set off in hopes of finding a way to incorporate that life in to this life.  We have yet to find a solution that works for us.  Mark is meant to be an aviator, it’s his passion and his calling.  I’m his #1 fan in making that happen and also have a passion for the aviation community. So when we change course and decide to no longer live on the road, aviation will be the reason.

10.  The freedom and flexibility this lifestyle offers is priceless. 

At some point in time we’ll live in a house again, we’re just not yet sure where that house is.  For now, living in a home on wheels keeps our options open and we love that.  We can live in an RV park near our business’s home base as needed.  We can live in the driveway of a friend or family member when projects need to be done.  We can live in the wilderness when we crave adventure and solitude.  We can live in an RV park in a new town when we want to explore the possibility of living there.  We knew we wanted to sell our house but we’re so glad we didn’t have to decide immediately where and what house we’d live in next.  The freedom to choose the life we want is a beautiful thing and something we’re trying to not take for granted.

Well…there you have it!  Just a few of the standout things we’ve learned from our first 6 months of full-time RV living.  It may not be glamorous but it’s real and I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.  We love challenging ourselves, learning and growing from our experiences.  It’s quite unclear what we’ll be doing six months from now, where and how we’ll be living, but I can’t wait to find out!

13 Comments

Leave a Reply to gary terrellCancel reply

  • We love your companionship as well. You are not only family but also friends. Loved our time together

  • I struggle with #3 a lot. Right now I travel in a 4wd converted cargo van and love the ability to drive down any road and back out if needed. I also have thought about buying a Casita for the extra room and comfort but struggle with that loss of mobility that comes with trailering.

    • It’s a huge trade-off! We go back and forth on our preferred method of travel a lot. The comfort of the trailer is so nice to have but we really miss being able to go anywhere.

  • I think I read that you are heading in direction of Eastern Sierra’s. If you have not been there before be sure to:

    1. Visit Galen Rowel photo studio in Bishop. Great grocery store in Bishop.
    2. Camp in the BLM land at Alabama HIlls. It is AWESOME. You will want to spend several days there at least. Near Lonepine on HW395.
    3. Camp in the rough on the South end of Mono Lake. Explore Navy Beach on Mono Lake. Another AWESOME place. Might be tricky pulling a trailer in soft sand.

    Chris

    • Thanks so much for your suggestions. Our posts are actually about a month behind schedule and we’re now in Idaho but we did enjoy stays in both Bishop and Alabama Hills. We got the opportunity to spend a week in the Alabama Hills and it didn’t disappoint!

  • Excellent and very timely post. I gave work my notice about two weeks ago with a leave date of April 20th. Plan is to get out of my apartment by end of May. Then on the road. Was having a mini-doubt episode this past weekend. Your 10 points here really summed things up for me. Very helpful and helped me understand some of the challenges I’ll face. Thanks and I hope you both are recovered from your colds and things are going well. Safe travels!

  • Very thoughtful comments. pros and cons of course. I’ve changed RVs a few times, there is no perfect one for all the possibilities or toys. Love going out for a month, but like to have the home base. Even then it’s a bit hard to engage in a community fully.

    • Having a home base with the ability to go out for a month is such a great way to enjoy the best of both worlds : )

  • We recently visited a human incampment in Mississippi. The building started around 1500 BC. It is assumed to have been created by “Hunter/Gather people’s. You trace their migration maps of where they came from and stories of how they might have gotten there, and wow have we really changed? I think your on the right track, that is to be at peace Within yourself. Our ego creates the quest while our spirit creates peace. Are our lives the closing or opening of doors?

    Enjoying your post, thanks.

By michele

About

Hi!  We’re Mark & Michele, a couple of modern-day nomads perfecting the art of slow, perpetual travel.  Our tiny home on wheels and slow-paced travel style allows us maximum freedom at minimal expense.  This blog is where we share our travels as well as our insights in to this lifestyle that we absolutely love.  Thanks so much for being here.

Subscribe

Subscribe to receive new posts in your inbox.

Follow us on social:

Recent Posts

Categories

Contact